"Dead Things" and the Big "G"
back to episode 6.13 - Dead Things
by figtoria"Dead Things" is, as you might suspect, about dead things; Katrina, Spike and Buffy, the dead and/or formerly dead. We also get a look at guilt in Sunnydale; those who have it, those who are keen to avoid it, and those who don't feel it at all. Along the way "Dead Things" lays out for us, piece by methodical piece, all the things Buffy feels guilty about. And there is a lot. Moving on, we see the Troika "juicing up" their "love machine". Ick. Can I just say "ick" again? One expects very little of Warren, somewhat more from Andrew, but Holy Frampton Comes Alive Batman - Jonathon should Know Better. Buffy, having finally come to the realization that she has begun to like the EBF, *Guilt*, enlists Tara's help in discovering how this can be so. Have I mentioned how much I like Tara? I like Tara. More and more I hope that she is not the BSD. Muchly.
A couple of double entendres are slipped in, just so Buffy won't forget to feel *Guilty*. "You've been going at it too hard, slinging the doublemeat and pounding the big evil." Thanks, Xander. We know she's been "pounding the meat" for all she's worth. She's been neglecting her friends and her health. "You are looking a little pounded," observes Anya helpfully. *Guilt* Then, after a quick, but pointed rejection by Dawn, "You're never here," *Guilt*, Buffy decides to go out to the Bronze with the gang.
Now we're at the Bronze. It's just like old times. Willow and Buffy are conversing over drinks. Willow is excusing Buffy for not being around so much. "You've been all tied up." *Guilt*. So Buffy sits a stranger in a strange land. She goes upstairs to be even more of an "outside looking in" gal. It's easier to enjoy feeling guilty when you're alone.
From here, I am reminded yet again how much I like Tara. Are you sure she has to die? And Willow. I like Willow in this episode, too. I so hope she isn't the Big Bad after all. Surely there are enough with Warren, Andrew, Jonathon, Amy and Rack that Willow and Tara can be left in peace? Nevermind, I'll be fine.
But of course, Buffy must run. *Guilt* He's an EBF remember! The "temporal disturbance" or "phase variance" or whatever it was was very effective. I was convinced that I had killed Katrina by the time it was over. But Spike, so commanding and bossy (Ooo, I like 'em that way, have I mentioned that?) takes care of everything. And now - The Dream Sequence:
This, I believe in the crux of this episode -- Buffy is afraid she will kill Spike. She is a vampire slayer. She kills vampires. Spike is vampire. He loves her. He trusts her. She loves him. She trusts him. But somehow Buffy is sure that Spike will be hurt or killed. I wish I felt more sure that Buffy is wrong. Dawn's response that Buffy's not sorry, never there, doesn't want to be there and didn't want to come back all hit home. *Guilt* Dawn's not wrong. Buffy's really "not here anyway". *Guilt* Buffy throws the first punch trying to beat Spike into not loving her. She doesn't want to hurt him, so she beats him up. Buffy Logic 101. Spike urges her on, "Put it all on me" he says. He means it. He is willing and able to take all the blame and all her guilt over their relationship. Twu Wuv is written on the biggest possible Anvil. Buffy pounds him to raw meat all the while telling him he has no soul, there's nothing good or clean in him, he's dead inside, he can't feel anything real. Can we all say, "Projection"? I knew that we could. Buffy is frantic that she's come back wrong; that she may be some kind of demon with no soul. She feels "unclean". She feels dead inside. She can't feel anything real. She can never be "his girl". Not because he's not good enough, but because SHE isn't good enough.
*Guilt* *Guilt* *Guilt* Back at the magic shop, Dawn is still poking Buffy's *Guilt* button. Maybe she should go to a foster home, she's pissing me off. "You always hurt the one you love" Buffy says, echoing Spike's words to her. Buffy's taken them as a warning. Warren killed Katrina. She might kill Spike. *Guilt* There's a final short scene with the Troika. Andrew (*sob*) has joined Warren in the guilt-free world of getting away with murder. Only Our Jonathon seems to have any hope of redemption. I begin to wonder if he is the BSD. He was once "almost a Scooby". I hope, if he does die, that he will make good first somehow.
Buffy is still using a child's palette of black and white for her world. Her *Guilt* is a construct of that "right" and "wrong" world. She needs to learn about gray. If she wants a healthy relationship with Spike she has to figure a way out of the guilt and out of the shadows. And she has to find a way to bring Spike with her into the light. At the moment this seems an insurmountable task. Hello? Vampire, remember? Seems impossible, but this is the girl who's saved the world (a lot). She can do it. She has to do it so that all is "right" again. Buckle up, I think we're in for quite a ride.
|
The
episode opens with Buffy and Spike lolling post-orgasmically on
the floor in Spike's crypt. The boy, as usual, talks too bloody
much. Girls who are sensitive about their cosmic origins don't like
to be called an animal in the sack. She's afraid he's right. He's
also right that she was having a conversation with an Evil Blood-sucking
Fiend (hereinafter referred to as the EBF). And while it is okay
to have sex with an EBF, it is NOT okay to converse with it. *Guilt*
Arriving
home from work, the Buffster is relieved to discover that Sweet
is not back in town, but that Xander is simply teaching Dawn to
dance. For those hoping for some X/D action here, I fear they will
be sorely disappointed. A more sexless, no chemistry scene has not
been witnessed on Buffy since the Evil Lunch Lady goosed Principal
Snyder. Oh wait, that was a fan fic. But so will any future X/D
romance have to be. There's nothing there.
Meanwhile,
the Troika have picked up Katrina and brought her back to their
place. If I am glossing over large chunks of this it is because
the whole sub-plot makes me go "Ewwwww". It's only after Katrina
snaps out of the spell and spells out R-A-P-E to them that Jonathon
and Andrew seem to have any idea what they were doing. Is their
immersion in fantasy and SF so complete that they didn't recognize
that having sex without a woman's consent is rape? Perhaps so. Katrina
certainly set them straight and Jonathon at least seemed disturbed
by the revelation. Before they can even digest this information,
Katrina is killed. Warren was standing behind the door the day they
were handing out GuiltGenes because he feels none. His primary concern
is not to be caught. Andrew and Jonathon are much more freaked out,
but whether from some understanding about what they have done, or
from pure fear of being caught is not very clear. Luckly Baldrick...er...sorry,
Warren has a cunning plan.
Except
you're not very alone with a vampire doing you from behind up on
the catwalk. Woo Hoo. Very hot scene, but disturbing as well. I'm
sure this was intended. For the first time in a long time I heard
very unSpikelike dialogue. Honestly, I'm not sure what they intend
by this. He is so Arnold in Terminator 1 in this scene, while in
the rest of the episode he is totally Arnold in Terminator 2. The
music was sinister, he was sinister. He went out of his way to isolate
her psychologically from her friends. It was creepy. Certainly,
she enjoyed herself. She could not deny that she loved getting away
with what they were doing; both screwing on the catwalk, and having
the relationship. Buffy is in a dark shadowy place. But is he right
in saying she "belongs" there?
The
crypt door scene is wonderful. Full of wonder. It is so totally
'shippy and full of promise for the future and Anvil Smashingly
These.Two.Belong.Together that I was drained of emotion by the end
of it. And yes, whoever said JM has chemistry with a door was correct.
And then some.
Spike
says to Buffy as he climbs into bed "It's our little secret." 
And
now Buffy is stealing (hee hee, get the pun? Dawn. Stealing. Hee
hee) into Dawn's room to say good-bye. For a moment she seems to
have some idea of what she has to do to start relieving her guilt.
"I have to tell what I did." Unfortunately, she's intent on confessing
the wrong thing.
And
now - The Fight:
She
stops punching him, suddenly aware of the horrific mess she's made
of his face.
The
final scene in which Tara tells Buffy that she's "not wrong" was
very moving. Buffy is so distraught. She can't deal with, or even
acknowledge the fact that she loves Spike. She feels so guilty about
loving "everything she hates", "everything she's supposed to be
against" that she can hardly think straight. She feels guilty about
loving him, and guilty about not loving him, because then she would
be using him, an equally contemptible act in her own eyes. She's
damned if she does, damned if she doesn't. She can't be forgiven
because whatever her motivation for being with Spike, she is doing
something wrong. She is wrong.
Home ... Episodes ... Essays ... FAQ ... Thoughts ... Wendy's Spoiler Zone ... The list itself!